For a team that supposedly is deep in veteran leadership, the Detroit Red Wings continue to display a knack for coming apart at key moments, and if they don’t straighten up their act, the team’s 24-year run of consecutive playoff appearances looks to be in serious jeopardy.
After a solid start in Tuesday’s game at Philadelphia against the Flyers, the Wings flew south faster than a snowbird in the fall once the Flyers opened the scoring and though they tried to fight back, fell 4-3 to the Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center.
With the loss, Detroit is now just one point ahead of the Flyers for the final wildcard playoff spot in the NHL’s Eastern Conference, and the Flyers hold two games in hand on the Red Wings.
Detroit coach Jeff Blashill admitted that he’s dumfounded as to why his team lost its composure so easily as soon as they got behind on the scoreboard.
“Once we got scored on we got on our heels way too easily,… Blashill said. “We didn’t show the resilience that you need to show after getting scored on. It’s going to happen. They gained momentum off it but we’ve got to make sure we quell the momentum.
“We’ve got to be way better than that.…
Philadelphia finished the first period with a 23-3 shot advantage and a 2-0 edge on the scoreboard in one of the worst periods of play turned in by Detroit this season.
“I thought we started pretty good the first five (minutes), then after they scored their first one they took over completely in the first period,… Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg said.
“We got on our heels a little bit and when you do that in this building, they’re coming full force. There were a few power plays in there and they got a lot of shots on net. But they definitely had the first period after the first five minutes.
“In the second we started playing better and after that it was an even game.…
Zetterberg pointed to key reasons why the Wings failed again and they are also a recurring theme of late with this team.
“It was turnovers,… Zetterberg said. “Turnovers or mistakes that they really capitalized on when they scored. In parts of the game we weren’t careful with the puck. We had it and then all of a sudden, they had it.
“We have to be more careful when you have the puck, especially on the road like this. We have to take care of it better.
This formula of failure is becoming too familiar not to be of concern for the Red Wings. They fell behind quickly last week in a 5-3 loss at Columbus and were also down in games they managed to rally and win against the Winnipeg Jets and New York Rangers.
Blashill pointed to the culprits causing those turnovers, his defensemen.
“Our D corps has to be better,… Blashill said. “We had unforced errors for nothing. I thought we played large stretches of the game and then all the sudden an unforced error.
“We have six real good NHL defensemen and they have to play better on Thursday (at Columbus) and I think they will.…
Mantha Debut Though he finished the night pointless, left-winger Anthony Mantha showed promise in his NHL debut. He got in alone twice on Flyers goalie Steve Mason. On the first occasion, his stick snapped as he shot and the second time he rang the puck off the post.
“I think in the O-zone I played pretty decent,… Mantha said. “I got a few opportunities, got a few battles down low.
“The first period I was just trying to keep it simple, tried to find my legs and then as the game went along I got better and better.…
Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer